A judge of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals and member of the High Council of Justice, Levan Murusidze, remarked on the UK sanctions, deeming them “unconvincing.”

“It sounds very unconvincing that Great Britain is concerned about Murusidze being corrupt, especially when not a single fact of corruption is mentioned. Corruption is merely a smokescreen for imposing sanctions; the true objective is to influence the judicial system. No one is convinced that Britain is genuinely concerned about Murusidze’s corruption. Am I supposed to be the next Escobar?” he told GPB First Channel on Wednesday.

Murusidze believes the move aims “to influence the judicial system.” “For example, let’s take Romania, where they didn’t like the winner in the first round, and they annulled the election through the court.”

According to Murusidze, “such actions damage Georgia’s sovereignty.”

“There are constant interests and political meddling, stemming from geopolitics; Georgia is important for their political interests. They think that by controlling the levers of the court, they will influence the politics and the country.

Sanctioning a foreign country’s judge without citing any facts makes it clear this is not about corruption. These are all issues pulled out of thin air. No one will believe that Britain supports Georgia so passionately that it would act this way, claiming to be troubled by Murusidze’s corruption. Am I supposed to be Escobar? Was I trafficking cocaine to Great Britain?! This is all absurd.

To tell you the truth, this cannot harm me financially, as I don’t have any business or real estate, especially abroad. I accept this reality and will try to face all this with dignity,” Murusidze added.

The British government has imposed sanctions on the Chair of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals, Mikheil Chinchaladze, and Judge and member of the High Council of Justice, Levan Murusidze, on charges of involvement in corruption.